The largest international wine expo hosts thousands of wineries, visitors need previous preparation to avoid getting lost in mediocre wines. Put the Hungarian booth on your schedule, because you will find true icons within a few squaremeters. Are you looking for  the Hungarian equivalent of Gaja or Mondavi? Visit H03 in Hall 15 on 15–17 Marchin Düsseldorf, Germany! Now we recommend 7 of the 63 exhibitors just to bring your appetite…

1. Gere Attila Winery, Villány

An absolute icon in the southern mediterranean wine region of Villány. Attila Gere created the first cult wine called Kopar (a Bordeaux blend), and soon after another one made of Merlot called Solus. He was a pioneer to sell wines prior to its release: Kopar and Solus are so sought after, that usually they are sold out before they are actually released. The winery works hard to keep the oustanding quality, and they are eager to introduce new products like the trendy Frici aerated sparkling in white and rosé.

2. Heumann Winery, Villány (Siklós)

The Swiss–German couple has long been a key producer in Hungary, in Siklós, which is the „white spot” of Villány wine region. The fact has been proved recently by 88 points given to Heumann Rhine Riesling by Meininger’s Wine Business. „The reason is quite simple. Siklos towards the west has a slightly cooler climate but what in my opinion is the most important fact is that the thinner layer of loess on the lime stone rock, compared to Villány. That gives our wines (whites plus reds) a great minerality and a slightly higher acidity. Different terroir!” – says Erhard Heumann.

3. Dúzsi Winery, Szekszárd

Tamás Dúzsi, founder of the family winery is dubbed The Rosé King with reason. He dedicates special attention to rosé wines, which are – according to his philosophy –  harder to make in outstanding quality. With barrel ageing wines get a „make up”, while a reductive rosé is fragile, winemaker has less tools for correction. He and his family make several single varietal rosé wines (Kékfrankos, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Kadarka etc.). Jeff Jensen of Wine Enthusiast magazine has just picked Kékfrankos Rosé as Editor’s choice with 90 points!

4. Garamvári Winery, Etyek–Buda and Balatonboglár

Winemaker of the Year, Winery of the Year and recently Lifelong Achievement Award – Vencel Garamvári has all these prestigious awards. He is a sparkling connoisseur, therefore it was obvious to create méthode traditionelle sparkling wines besides still wines from Balatonboglár region. The sparkling cellar is in Budafok (Budapest) and grapes come from cooler climate regions for sparklings. Vencel was to first to make Furmint sparkling wines!

 

5. Hilltop Neszmély, Neszmély wine region

Winemaker of the Year in Hungary AND in the United Kingdom – Ákos Kamocsay, chief winemaker of Hilltop had this rare feat in his career with hundreds of gold medals. This winery had significant role to make the world get acquainted with Cserszegi Fűszeres grape variety – which was labelled for a while in England as the Unpronounceable. The Chardonnay Selection of Hilltop is a collectors’ item: Chardonnay wines from the same vintage made in the same way from different vineyards.

6. Vylyan Vineyard and Winery, Villány

Vylyan is much more than a winery, it is a cultural and artistic centre as well. Poetry and visual art is highly present in every movement of Vylyan, which would not make them famous in itself, but art is paired with exceptional wines as well. The latest venture is a crossover project with poems and short stories inspired by the wines, and with labels inspired by the poems and stories. Do you want to sell wines with stories? Visit Vylyan!

7. Grand Tokaj, Tokaj

The only state owned winery, the largest undergrand labyrinth in Hungary, countless awards and a chief winemaker Károly Áts with the double result of 100 points (Wine & Spirit and Robert Parker) – this is Grand Tokaj. Mundus Vini 2018 Best in Show award winning Szarvas Tokaji Aszú 6 puttonyos comes from Szarvas vineyard, Tarcal. 2013 vintage was an outstanding vintage when berries were fully infected by the noble botrytis. Notes of loess based soil, pear, dried chamomile, candied orange peel and a touch of smokiness from the new barrel. Pear compote and ripened orange on the palate with honey and chamomile tea. Creamy texture, the blessing of sunshine, amazing structure!

 

Far from the noise, close to the sky

Among the forests, far from the cities there is a hidden valley, a perfect escape, it is called Zselic Leisure Farm. Zselic National Park was the first in Europe in 2009 – together with Scottish Galloway Park – to receive the International Star Reserve Park title, because in bright nights thousands or rather millions of stars are visible over the farm. Zselic Leisure Farm has 8 guests houses scattered around the valley with 33 rooms altogether. All the rooms are furnished and designed with the cooperation of renowned artists of visual art. A spectacular wine cellar, event venues and a sauna house is at the guests’ disposal all year long.

Award winning beef, vegetables from the garden

If you are what you eat, then at Zselic Leasure Farmy your body is clean and healthy, and your soul is lifted with the good feeling that you have done something for the earth. At Zselic valley they keep animals and process meat within the farm, they multi award winning French charolais beef is unparalleled. Vegetables are grown on the spot, jams, juices are also made by Zselic staff, certainly from fruit grown within the National Park. As for the wines, Zselic Leisure Farm cooperates with Pannon Borbolt (Pannon wine shop) in Pécs to offer a good selection of wines from Pannon broader wine region (Pécs, Villány, Szekszárd, Tolna). Let us recommend 3 courses with 3 wines from the menu!

Farm grown chicken with the king’s rosé

Farm grown chicken steak and risotto with spinach and dried tomato is a dish made of almost only locally grown ingredients. The taste of a chicken eating grass all his life is far from the industrially kept chicken. This meal deserves an equal partner: for example a carefully made rosé wine from Dúzsi Family Winery from the neighbouring Szekszárd. Rozé Cuvée 2019 is made of Zweigelt, Merlot, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. A fresh, lively, crispy rosé with red berry fruits, a true representative of Szekszárd wine region, one of the closest wine regions to Zselic.

Duck leg confit with the spirit of our ancestors

Eszterbauer Winery is closely related to the elder generations. They do not only rely on the forefathers’ knowledge, but dedicate the labels to long gone figures of their past. ’Tanyamacska’ (literally ’Farm Cat’) refers to typical rural people, who spent all their lives in the vineyards and the cellar, and of course loved drinking wine from down to dusk. Duck leg confit is served with apple flavoured steamed purple cabbage, plus onion and bacon seasoned smashed potatoes. This intense and rich meal needs a fresh, lively red wine with vibrant acids and structure as well well to cope up with the complexity of the meal. Tanyamacska Kékfrankos meets these requirements, and gives some extra spiciness, lovely barrel notes and long finish. It shows the excitement of the variety with the richness of fruits and acidity, but at the same time it reflects the mildness of the wine region.

The king of the forest with a truly noble wine

Nándor Montenuovo was a noble man, who helped Villány region in several ways, mostly in agriculture. In spite of his unselfish help and the influence he made on the development of the region, he died among miserable circumstances due to the political situations (he was a passionate hunter, and at the end of the 2nd World War he was taken to prison for owning weapons, he died in prison due to inflammation of the lungs). Vylyan Vineyard and Winery dedicates one of their most important blend to this noble martyr: Montenuovo Cuvée. The blend is a perfect match with the king of the surrounding forests, the deer. The marinated venison with blueberry sauce and crocquette pairs well with this amazing red wine. The structure is dominated by the Cabernet Franc, harmoniously complemented by the spiciness of the Syrahand the Zweigelt and the balance of the Merlot. Dark fruity notes and the spiciness of cocoa powder feels overwhelming on the palate, but with proportionate and soft tannins and refreshing acidity.

More about Zselic Leasure Farm

25th ProWein – quarter of a century with constant innovation

ProWein owes its success to the innovative spirit of the team behind. In 1994 there were only 321 exhibitors and 1517 visitors, now there are more than 6800 exhibitors attracting around 60 000 trade visitors– what huge numbers! As Marius Berlemann, Global Head Wine & Spirits, Director ProWein says: „We do not relax, we continuously improve our services and react to any critics emerged. We are in contact with both our exhibitors and visitors to find the best sought after new features (for eaxmple when artisan wine occured to be of interest, we created a section within Same but different section).”

Villány, Szekszárd, Balaton

Hungary has 22 wine regions, each of them has its dominant varieties and merits of the terroir. Tokaj is certainly the „king of wines and wine of the kings”, but the above mentioned regions are also obligatory when somebody wants to have a deeper knowledge of Hungary. Here we recommend three wineries of each region.

Gere Tamás & Zsolt, Villány

The family winery has the knowledge and experience of the father and the passionate, innovative spirit of son – an ideal combination. Villányi Franc is the most important brand of the wine region, and the Gere family makes a superb Franc, one of the best ones in Villány. „Cabernet Franc has been promoted to be the flagship wine of Villány, and the vintage 2012 is one of the most beautiful example of Villányi Franc. Elegance and subtlety with a touch of charm from Villány. Serious body and structure, pleasant acidity and harmony make the experience unforgettable.”

Garamvári Vineyard and Winery, South Balaton

The oldest family owned sparkling wine cellar with still wines as well from the south of Lake Balaton. Balaton broad wine region is divided into 5 smaller regions, South Balaton is a region with white and black varieties, Garamvári for example has a lively, juicy Irsai Olivér, but they also make pleasant, elegant Pinot Noir. As for the sparkling wines, Vencel Garamvári was the first to make bottle fermented sparkling wine of Furmint, and he constantly works on improving the quality of this sparklings. The aromatic Irsai Olivér is a grape variety which has the potential to be elegant when vinified with great care and attention. „A light but extremely aromatic wine with bursting fruitiness, fragrance of perfume and a long aftertaste of bunch of ripe grape.”

Dúzsi Family Winery, Szekszárd

Szekszárd is probably the most versatile wine region of Hungary. It has a light red wine coming from indigenous  Kadarka, Bikavér is the powerful red wine of the region (Szekszárdi Bikavér is equally famous as Egri Bikavér), and the region makes different white wines and rosé has a signicicant share of the production as well. Tamás Dúzsi is often quoted as The Rosé King, because he makes several varietal rosé wines and blends as well, and he pays extreme attention to vinification. His sons and daughter follow path and take part in the work actively. Their Kékfrankos Rosé is a good example of their efforts. Bortársaság, distributor of Dúzsi Winery characterizes the wine as follows: „It’s the hippest Dúzsi rosé for years and not only for the contemporary silver screw cap but also because it’s vivacious, pure and fascinating. Pale rosé colour, fresh fruit aromas, perfect strawberry and no tutti frutti. Great palate with flavoursome strawberry and refreshing grapefruit. Delicious bitterness, Kékfrankos spice and a bit of appealing sweetness that suits it well at the end of the very long palate. It’s truly fantastic and it really has a screw cap.”